Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,876 (Fox) discloses a catheter comprising a tube containing optical fibers for laser radiation treatment and optical fibers for observation, which fibers are fixed inside the tube.
Similarly, Document WO-A-89/12479 Optimed describes a catheter for angioplasty containing an optical fiber which is fixed in permanent manner to said catheter which also has a balloon for increasing its outside diameter.
Document EP-A-0 350 021 discloses the destruction of surface contaminants by direct irradiation using a high energy source that may comprise a pulse layer.
The solutions proposed do not give full satisfaction. In particular, in the medical field of destroying lithiases, in particular as encountered in urology and in gastroenterology, presently available endoscopic devices are constituted by a body which is rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible and in which the optical system is incorporated in non-removable manner. The body generally includes an operating channel for conveying the laser fiber and the washing liquid required for proper operation of the apparatus.
After destroying lithiases, the endoscopic treatment probe is withdrawn and it is then necessary to place a ureteral drainage probe on a temporary basis in the urine excretion path. This complicates the procedure, considerably increasing the total time required for the operation, thus making it unsuitable for proceeding without a general anesthetic and consequently requiring hospitalization.
In addition, present endoscopic devices are very expensive and therefore cannot be discarded after one use only, which means they suffer sterilization problems, in particular problems of sterilizing the operating channel.
In addition, because of the fineness required for these endoscopic devices, they are very fragile which means that their lifetime is relatively short and that they are expensive to maintain.